Material unloader



Oct. 12, 1965 K. D. ELWICK MATERIAL UNLOADER 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 16, 1963 INVENTOR. KEITH D. ELWICK ATTORNEY FIG. I

Oct. 12, 1965 K. D. ELWICK MATERIAL UNLOADER 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 16, 1963 FIG. 3

INVENTOR. KEITH D.ELWICK ATTORNEY Oct. 12, 1965 Filed Aug. 16, 1963 K. D. ELWICK MATERIAL UNLOADER '7 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. KEITH D.ELWICK um W ATTORNEY Oct. 12, 1965 K. D. ELWICK 3,211,461

MATERIAL UNLOADER Filed Aug. 16, 1963 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 60 U --2| E 1 1 a E A H l LEI E 43 2?. l2] El LIJ El '2; E E E T: 2 L- E INVENTOR. KEITH D. ELWICK ATTORNEY Oct. 12, 1965 K. D. ELWICK 3,211,461

MATERIAL UNLOADER Filed Aug. 16, 1963 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 O O O Q13? 21g c/ Oct. 12, 1965 K. D. ELWICK 3,211,461

MATERIAL UNLOADER Filed Aug. 16, 1963 '7 Sheets-Sheet 6 United States Patent C) 3,211,461 MATEREAL UNLOADER Keith D. Elwick, Vinton, Iowa, assignor to Hawk Bilt Mfg. Corp, a corporation of Iowa Filed Aug. 16, 1963, Ser. No. 303,220 3 Claims. (Cl. 2756) This application is a continuation-in-part of my application Serial No. 136,536, filed September 7, 1961, now abandoned.

This invention relates to a material spreader and more particularly to a type of material spreader which utilizes a floor conveyor moving a material toward one end of the container, and further utilizes a rotor structure which discharges the material over one side of the container.

Many material spreaders are used for spreading wet, sloppy materials containing liquid which can run out of a container that is not fully closed at the bottom and sides. Accordingly, the present spreader has a liquid tight container, and material is discharged over a side wall by flails which reach the top of their circle of rotation as they approach the wall over which the material is discharged.

Preferably the discharge of material is from the front portion of the container, rather than the rear, so that the material in the container is constantly moved toward the front by the floor conveyor and thus keeps the weight of the load forward. Most spreaders are two wheeled vehicles adapted to be drawn behind a prime mover such as a farm tractor, and maintaining weight on the tractor drawbar is important for traction.

In an embodiment of the invention having the flails at the front, only a short rotor is required. Preferably a device having flails at the rear has a rotor extending the entire length of the container, and the floor conveyor is driven from a part of the rotor that extends rearwardly of the rear container wall.

It is the primary object of the present invention, therefore, to provide a spreader having a liquid tight material container with a pair of upright side walls interconnected at their lower ends by a floor and closed at the front and rear ends. A floor conveyor is used to move material to one end of the conveyor, and a fore-and-aft extending rotor positioned at the one end has flails to discharge material over one of the side walls.

A further object of the present invention is to incorporate with the above type of material discharge unit a hood which is positioned over the rotor and extends transversely to one side of the container for guiding the material to a particular location of discharge.

Another object of the present invention is to incorporate at one end a transverse end gate which normally is closed so as to prevent incidental discharge of material and is capable of swinging open due to a large internal force. By this means, should the floor conveyor carry a large foreign object which cannot be discharged by the rotor, the floor conveyor will force it through the end gate to be discharged on the ground and thereby prevent damage to the rotor structure.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art as the nature of the invention is better understood from the following description and as shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view looking into the container of a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary side perspective view looking rearwardly and into the rear portion of the container of said first embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a rear elevational view of the first embodiment with parts broken away for purposes of showing internal structure;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the first embodiment hitched to a tractor;

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view of the first embodiment, but showing a modified form of the hood;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the rear portion of the device shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional view showing the rear portion of the first embodiment provided with a modified form of the rotor structure;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary side elevational View of a second embodiment of the invention hitched to a tractor;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view on an enlarged scale taken substantially as indicated along the line 99 of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary plan view on an enlarged scale showing the front part of the second embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view taken substantially as indicated along the line 1111 of FIG. 9;and

FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken substantially as indicated along the line 12-12 of FIG. 11.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 to 7 of the drawings, the first embodiment of the material spreader includes a main frame structure 10 supported mainly on a pair of transversely spaced transport wheels 11, 12, carried on opposite sides of a transverse axle structure 13. The forward end of the frame structure 10 has a clevis type connection 14 which may be connected to a drawbar 15 of a tractor, indicated in its entirety by the reference numeral 16. The tractor 16 has a power take-01f shaft 17 of the conventional type.

Supported on the main frame 10 and axle structure 13 is a box-like material container which includes a pair of upright side walls 20, 21, a floor or bottom wall 22' which interconnects the lower edges of the side walls 20; 21, a front wall 23, and a rear wall structure 24. The

rear wall structure 24 closes the rear end of the material container as does the front wall the front end. The rear wall structure 24 is composed of upper and lower transverse upright sections 25, 26, the latter being hingedly mounted at 27 to the lower edge of the upper section 25. The hinges 27 are formed about a transverse hori zonal axis at the rear of the material container. As may be seen clearly from viewing various of the figures, the lower section 26 may swing outwardly or rearwardly from the plane of the upper section 25. There is provided on opposite sides of the material container a pair of springs 29, 30. Brackets, such as at 31, extend outwardly from the panel section 26 and have the springs 29, 30 attached thereto. Similar brackets, such as at 32, 33 project outwardly from the outer surfaces of the side walls 20, 21 and have the opposite ends of the springs 29, 30 attached thereto. Consequently the springs 29, 30 generally bias the panel 26 to its down or closed position. However, the panel 26 may yield or swing rearwardly for purposes of discharging material. The sprocket drive-shaft 35 is supported by journal blocks 36, 37, 38 directly beneath the rear edge of the floor 22. A floor conveyor, including a pair of transversely spaced apart chains 39, 40, and interconnected by transversely extending flights, or raddles 43, has an upper run extending over the floor 22 with a lower run positioned beneath the floor 22. Sprockets 41, 42 are carried on the driveshaft 35 and eifect movement of the upper run of the conveyor so as to move material rearwardly and toward the rear end of the container. As is conventional a pair of idler chain sprockets are carried on an idler shaft, not shown, at the forward end of the container.

The side walls 20, 21 are generally upright and parallel to one another. Mounted on the rear portions of the side walls 20, 21 are inwardly directed wall extensions or panels 50, 51 which converge toward one another and are mounted on the respective walls 20, 21 by means of hinges 52, 53 so that the panels 50, 51 may swing from a position inwardly and adjacent the floor 22 and positions lying adjacent and against the side walls 20, 21, the latter position being shown in dotted representation in FIG. 1. Clips such as at 54, 55 are provided on the inner face of the side walls 20, 21 for purposes of holding the wall extensions 50, 51 in their positions against the walls 20, 21. As is clearly evident, the panels 50, 51 are triangular shaped and when in their converged positions generally tend to decrease the transverse dimension of the rear portion of the container to provide a discharge portion at the rear of the container. The panels 50, 51 generally converge beneath a main rotor shaft, indicated generally by the reference numeral 60. Material moving rearwardly by the flights 43 of the conveyor will be directed centrally at the rear end of the conveyor by the panels 50, 51. Viewing FIG. 3 for the moment, it becomes evident that a panel 50 is supported by means of a bracket support 56 which is bolted at 57 to the rear surface of the panel 50 and is also bolted at 58 to the side wall 20. The bolts 57, 58 may be removed and therefore the panel 50 may be considered as detachably fixed in its converging position. A similar arrangement is provided to support the opposite converging panel 51.

The shaft 60 is disposed longitudinally of the material container, between the side walls 20, 21, and above the floor 22. The shaft 60 is supported at its front and rear end by journals 61, 62 respectively which are supported in turn by the front wall 23 and the rear wall section 25. An upright channel support 63 is provided on the forward face of the wall 23 for purposes of supporting the shaft 60 primarily from the main frame 10. The shaft 60 is inclined from a relatively low end at the forward end of the material container to a relatively high end at the rear end of the material container. The shaft 60 also has a forwardly directed portion 60,1 which projects forwardly of the front wall 23 and a rear portion 60r which projects rearwardly of the rear wall section 25. The front and rear projecting portions 60 60r may be integral with the main portion of the shaft 60 or may be rigidly connected for rotation therewith through other means.

A short spiral element 65 is fixed to the rear end of the shaft 60 adjacent the rear portion of the material container. Mounted on the flight of the spiral 65 are a series of chain flails 66 having weights 67 at their outer ends. The lengths of the chains 66 and weights 67 are substantially equal to the distances between the edge of the spiral flight 65 and the upper edges of the conveyor flights 43.

Also fixed to the rear end of the shaft 60 and closely adjacent to the rear wall sections 25, 26 is a radial arm 70 rigidly fixed to the shaft 60 and an outer flail 71 which is pivotally mounted to the outer end of the arm 70. The flail arms 70, 71 and the flail chains 66 and their respective weights 67 operate as a rotor structure adjacent the rear end of the material container, and operate to pulverize and drive the material over the side wall 21 as the flails pass the top of their circle of rotation approaching the wall.

The forward end 60;; of the shaft 60 has a sprocket 80 carrying a chain 79 extending outwardly to a foreand-aft extending shaft 81 which is fundamentally a crankshaft having an eccentric portion 82 thereon. The shaft 81 carries a driven sprocket 83 on which the drive chain 79 is mounted. The shaft 81 is supported on the outer side of the wall 21 by means of journal blocks 86, 87 and 88.

The floor conveyor drive shaft 35 extends outwardly of the side wall 21 and has a ratchet 90 fixed thereto. A pair of pawl arms 91, 92 are pivotally mounted on the shaft 35 on opposite sides of the ratchet 90. A pawl 93 is carried on the pawl arms 91, 92 and engages the teeth of the ratchet 90. The forward ends of the arms 91, 92 are connected to a depending connecting rod 95 which has its upper end connected to the eccentric portion 82 of the crankshaft 81. Consequently as the shaft is rotated, it will effect conveyance of material by the floor conveyor through the drive means extending from the rear end 60r of the shaft 60 to the floor conveyor drive-shaft 35.

A hood, indicated in its entirety by the reference numeral 100, is provided at the rear end of the material container. The hood 100 includes an arcuate shaped portion 100 and 101 which will normally overlie the rotor structure including the chains 66 and flail members 70, 71. The lower edge of the arcuate section 101 is flared outwardly at 102 to lie atop the upper edge of the wall 20. When in its overlying position relative to the rotor structure, the panel 101 will normally be a continuation of the side wall 20 and extends first upwardly and transversely to overlie the rotor structure. The hood 100 is mounted on the upper section 25 of the rear wall by means of hinges, such as at 103, and a semicircular plate 104 extending from the upper edge of the panel 25 to the arcuate panel 101. The hinges 103 form a pivotal mounting arrangement about a transverse horizontal axis so that the entire hood may swing rearwardly and over the panel section 25. In this location, it is believed that the hood is best removed from the area for purposes of loading the material into the container. Suitable locking means, while not shown, may be provided to lock or otherwise fix the hood in its down position as shown in FIG. 3.

Other shapes and forms of hoods may be used. For example, the modification shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 may be used for purposes of unloading forage material into a feed trough as represented at 117. In this form, the arcuate shaped panel 111 extends from one edge adjacent the upper edge of the side wall 20 upwardly and inwardly to overlie both the rotor structure and the opposite wall 21 and from thence to extend downwardly to an edge spacedly beyond the adjacent side of the container. Also, there is provided a second arcuate shaped panel 112 which extends upwardly and outwardly from the upper edge of the opposite side wall 21 and then downwardly to a lower edge. The latter panel 112 forms with the upper panel 111 a channel or chute through which material may be guided outwardly of the material container and downwardly into a feed trough 117. The panels 111, 112 are interconnected at their rear edges by a vertical panel 113 and at their forward edges by a panel 114. As may be seen from viewing FIG. 5, the forward panel 114 does not transcend the transverse dimension of the material unloader but covers generally only that portion of the chute outside of the material container. A forwardly inclined flange or panel 115 extends both inwardly and forwardly from the inner edge of the panel 114 so as to guide material into the chute formed by the respective panels 111, 112, 113 and 114. Whether the hood is of either type shown at 100 or 110, it is clearly apparent that the hood operates to aid in guiding the material over one wall of the material container.

The material speader operates in the following manner. Material is fed rearwardly by the flights 43 of the floor conveyor until the material contacts the chains 66 and the weights 67. Upon this occurring, the chains will initially wrap about the shaft generally inside of the outer periphery of the flight elements 65 and will gradually operate to dig a hole in the material to be discharged. Should the material unloader be extremely overloaded, i.e., the material mounted in the unloader be considerably above the shaft 60, the auger or spiral flight 65 would tend to feed material rearwardly to the flail elements 70, 71 until there is a suflicient hole provided in the material for the chains 66 and their respective weights 67 to begin heating or driving the material over one side-21 of the container. Since the container is considerably wider than the maximum extent of the chains 66, the diverging sections 50, 51 of the material unloader would tend to guide the material into the path of the chains at the extreme rear end of the unloader. Consequently the forward chain 66 Will tend to discharge a central area of the material being discharged and the rear chains will tend to discharge the material which forms in the corners of the box since the material will be guided into the chains at the rear end of the container.

Should a large stone or foreign object be passed into the material container so that the chains are incapable of discharging the object over the side of the unloader, the flights 43 will tend to move the large object to the rear of the unloader. The chains 66 and the flail elements 70, 71, being generally flexible, will tend to deflect when they hit this large object. However, the flights 43 will continue moving the object rearwardly until it contacts the lower or endgate section 26 of the rear wall whereupon the springs 29, 30 will yield rearwardly to permit the stone to be passed out the rear end of the unloader.

In the modification shown in FIG. 7 there are provided a series of rigid radial arms 120 fixed to the rotor shaft 60. The radial arms 120 have their largest diameter at the rear of the container and generally are reduced in their radial dimension in proportion to their axial distance from the rear wall 24. Consequently the arms 120 generally form a cone with the small end of the cone being in opposed relation to the material being fed rearwardly by the flights 43.

In the modification shown in FIG. 7, material will be fed first into the short arms at the apex of the cone where only a small amount will be discharged. The material will continue to be fed rearwardly with each successive arm taking a larger bite of material out of the material being moved rearwardly. The largest radial arms at the extreme rear of the spreader are substantially equal to the distance between the shaft 60 and the upper edge of the flights 43. Consequently upon the material reaching the largest arms, there will only be a small amount of material left at that point.

Referring now .to FIGS. 8 to 12, the second embodiment of the invention is shown as having a frame structure, indicated generally at 210, having wheels 211; and a forward portion 212 of the frame has a clevis type connection 214 which may be connected to a drawbar 15 of a tractor 16 that has a power take-off 17.

Supported on the main frame 210 is a box-like material container, indicated generally at 219, which has side walls 220 and 221, a bottom wall 222 supported in spaced relationship to the base frame 210 upon standards 222a, a rear wall (not shown) and a front wall 223 which is spaced forwardly of the forward extremities of the side walls 220 and 221 and connected thereto by an arcuate wall section 224 that is best seen in FIG. 9 to extend approximately 180 degrees and to have its lowermost point 225 substantially below the level of the floor 222. At a discharge side of the spreader the semi-circular wall 225 terminates in a flange 226, while at the opposite side the wall 224 is connected to a hood 227 that occupies the upper quadrant opposite the discharge side of the container and is formed integrally with an upper front wall plate 2230.

As best seen in FIGS. 11 and 12, a pair of elongated inclined brackets 228 extend upwardly from the forward frame element 212 and are connected by a front plate 229 which extends upwardly to carry a forward journal 230 with which a rearward journal 231 in the wall 223 in aligned; and a drive shaft 232 carried in the journals 230 and 231 has a universal joint 233 at its forward end through which the shaft is connected to the tractor power take-off 17 by a conventional extensible connecting shaft 234. The shaft 232 extends through the journal 231 and has an inner portion 232a that is embraced by a fixed sleeve 235, and radially extending lugs 236 on said sleeve carry flexible flails 237 at the outer ends 6 of which are flail plates 238. As seen in FIG. 9 the length of the flails 237 is such that the plates 238 just clear the semicircular wall 224 when they are fully extended. Immediately adjacent the front wall 223 the sleeve 225 carries a pair of rigid arms 239 at the outer ends of which are pivoted flail arms 240. Thus, the inner portion 232a of the input shaft, the fixed sleeve 235, the chain flails 237 and arms 239 with flail arms 240 provide a rotor which may be driven in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 9 to discharge material out the discharge side of the container and over the flange 226 of the wall 224.

As best seen in FIGS. 9-11, a floor conveyor, indicated generally at 241, has a forward input shaft 242 carried in a blind bearing 243 and a hollow bearing 244 which are mounted, respectively, in the container side walls 220' and 221. A pair of longitudinal floor conveyor chains 245 are trained around sprockets 246 on the input shaft 242 and around idler sprockets on an idler shaft (not shown) at the rear of the container. Conveyor cross-bars 247 in the form of angle members are secured to the conveyor chains 245 at regular intervals, and as best seen in FIGS. 9 and 11, the chains 245 have an upper run in which they ride on the floor 222 of the container and a lower run beneath said floor. Accordingly, when the container is filled with material, movement of theconveyor chains in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 10 carries material forwardly for discharge from the container by the rotor.

The floor conveyor 241 is driven by a power transmission system, indicated generally at 248, that includes a reduction gear box 249 supported on a bracket 250 in spaced relationship to the side wall 221 of the container, and a longitudinal jack shaft 251 the forward portion of which is carried in a journal 252 that is supported upon a outwardly extending bracket 253 on the front wall 223 of the container.

An output sprocket 254 on the drive shaft 232 carries a roller chain 255 that is also trained around a sprocket 256 on the front of the jack shaft 251, and a tensioning sprocket 257 for the chain 255 is carried upon a stub shaft- 258 which is supported in a bracket 258a on front wall 223 of the container. As best seen in FIGS. 10 and 12, an output shaft of the reduction gear box 249 carries an output sprocket 259 from which a drive chain 260 is trained around a sprocket 261 on the floor conveyor input shaft 242.

It is apparent from the foregoing description that rotation of the drive shaft 232, the inner end of which provides the material discharge rotor, drives said rotor to discharge material from the container, while at the same time the power transmission assembly 248 for the floor conveyor 241 drives said conveyor so as to continuously move material forwardly in the container where it may be discharged by the rotor.

When the container is first filled with material, such as the debris, from a cow barn or the manure pack from a cattle loafing shed, the container may be filled entirely to the front wall 223, and under these conditions the flail chains 237 are wrapped around the sleeve 235 and discharge the material first from the area immediately around the shaft, and then progressively open a deeper and wider trough around the shaft until the operating conditions are generally as illustrated in FIG. 11, in which the floor conveyor continuously maintains a relatively small amount of material in the extreme forward portion of the container below the rotor. Thus, the portion of the container ahead of the side walls 220 and 221 affords a material discharge portion of the container.

The foregoing detailed description is given for clearness of understanding only and no unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom, as modifications will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. A material unloading and spreading device comprising: an elongated wheeled container having a bottom wall, first and second side walls and two end walls, said container being open at the top and there being a discharge portion at one end of the container, said discharge portion being defined by one of said end walls and by side walls the upper edges of which are generally co-planar with those of the container side walls, and said portion having a floor no higher than the bottom wall of the container; a transverse wall which forms an upward extension of the end wall of the container; an arcuate hood joined to said transverse wall and overlying said discharge portion, said hood extending from the first side Wall and having a free edge spaced no more than about 90 from the second side wall; hinge means connecting the transverse wall to the end wall to swing the transverse wall and hood outwardly from the end wall, whereby the top of the discharge portion may be opened to facilitate loading of the container; conveyor means in the bottom of the container for moving material in the container into said discharge portion; shaft means extending longitudinally in the discharge portion of the container, said shaft means being substantially equidistant from the side walls and from the floor of th discharge portion; a plurality of radial arm elements spaced along said shaft means and providing flails in said discharge portion, said flails being extensible outwardly from the shaft and having a maximum length which barely clears the side walls and floor of the discharge portion; and drive means rotating said shaft means to discharge material over the second side wall as said ma terial is moved into the discharge portion, said drive means turning the shaft to move the flails from the free edge of said hood across the space toward said second side wall, whereby the flails may act always upon the material nearest the top of the discharge portion.

2. The device of claim 1 in which the flail nearest the adjacent end wall is a rigid arm extending radially from the shaft and having a hinged arm element at its outer end and in which the remaining flails consist of flexible members which may wind close around the shaft.

3. A material unloading and spreading device comprising: an elongated wheeled container having a pair of oppositely disposed side walls interconnected by a bottom wall, and front and rear end walls, said container being open only at the top and there being a discharge portion in the front of the container which has a unitary bottom and side wall structure of substantially semi-circular shape, the lowest point of said wall srtucture being no higher than the bottom wall of the container, and the tops of said side wall structure being substantially coplanar with the upper edges of the container side walls; conveyor means in the bottom of the container for moving material toward and into said discharge portion; a longitudinal shaft on the axis of the Wall structure of the discharge portion, said shaft extending through the front wall; a plurality of radial arm elements in spaced relationship along the shaft and solely within the discharge portion of the container to provide flails in said discharge portion, said arm elements being extensible outwardly from the shaft and having a maximum length which barely clears the side walls and floor of the discharge portion, the flail nearest the front Wall being a rigid arm that extends radially from the shaft and has a hinged arm element at its outer end, and the remaining flails consisting of flexible members which may wind close around the shaft; an arcuate hood over the discharge portion of the container to confine the discharge of material from said portion to the area above one side wall; and drive means for rotating said shaft to discharge material from the discharge portion of the container over said one side wall as said material is moved toward and into said discharge portion of the container, said drive means turning the shaft to move the flails from the free edge of said hood across the space toward said one side wall, whereby the flails may act always upon the material nearest the top of the discharge portion.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,296,474 9/42 Kucera 2756 2,570,472 10/51 Mott 2753 2,645,500 7/53 Moss 2756 2,754,126 7/56 Aune 2753 2,886,332 5/59 Elwick 2753 2,900,193 8/59 Harriott 2753 3,015,188 l/62 Reinecker et al 17245 X 3,048,409 8/ 62 Elwick 2753 FOREIGN PATENTS 299,827 8/ 17 Germany. 31,310 10/20 Norway.

ABRAHAM G. STONE, Primary Examiner.

WILLIAM A. SMITH III, Examiner. 

1. A MATERIAL UNLOADING AND SPREADING DEVICE COMPRISING: AN ELONGATED WHEELED CONTAINER HAVING A BOTTOM WALL, FIRST AND SECOND SIDE WALLS AND TWO END WALLS, SAID CONTAINER BEING OPEN AT THE TOP AND THERE BEING A DISCHARGE PORTION AT ONE END OF THE CONTAINER, SAID DISCHARGE PORTION BEING DEFINED BY ONE OF SAID END WALLS AND BY SIDE WALLS THE UPPER EDGES OF WHICH ARE GENERALLY CO-PLANAR WITH THOSE OF THE CONTAINER SIDE WALLS, AND SAID PORTION HAVING A FLOOR NO HIGHER THAN THE BOTTOM WALL OF THE CONTAINER; A TRANSVERSE WALL WHICH FORMS AN UPWARD EXTENSION OF THE END WALL OF THE CONTAINER; AN ARCUATE HOOD JOINED TO SAID TRANSVERSE WALL AND OVERLYING SAID DISCHARGE PORTION, SAID HOOD EXTENDING FROM THE FIRST SIDE WALL AND HAVING A FREE EDGE SPACED NO MORE THAN ABOUT 90* FROM THE SECOND SIDE WALL; HINGE MEANS CONNECTING THE TRANSVERSE WALL TO THE END WALL TO SWING THE TRANSVERSE WALL AND HOOD OUTWARDLY FROM THE END WALL, WHEREBY THE TOP OF THE DISCHARGE PORTION MAY BE OPENED TO FACILITATE LOADING OF THE CONTAINER; CONVEYOR MEANS IN THE BOTTOM OF THE CONTAINER FOR MOVING MATERIAL IN THE CONTAINER INTO SAID DISCHARGE PORTION; SHAFT MEANS EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY IN THE DISCHARGE PORTION OF THE CONTAINER, SAID SHAFT MEANS BEING SUBSTANTIALLY EQUIDISTANT FROM THE SIDE WALLS AND FROM THE FLOOR OF THE DISCHARGE PORTION; A PLURALITY OF RADIAL ARM ELEMENTS SPACED ALONG SAID SHAFT MEANS AND PROVIDING FLAILS IN SAID DISCHARGE PORTION, SAID FLAILS BEING EXTENSIBLE OUTWARDLY FROM THE SHAFT AND HAVING A MAXIMUM LENGTH WHICH BARELY CLEARS THE SIDE WALLS AND FLOOR OF THE DISCHARGE PORTION; AND DRIVE MEANS ROTATING SAID SHAFT MEANS TO DISCHARGE MATERIAL OVER THE SECOND SIDE WALL AS SAID MATERIAL IS MOVED INTO THE DISCHARGE PORTION, SAID DRIVE MEANS TURNING THE SHAFT TO MOVE THE FLAILS FROM THE FREE EDGE OF SAID HOOD ACROSS THE SPACE TOWARD SAID SECOND SIDE WALL, WHEREBY THE FLAILS MAY ACT ALWAYS UPON THE MATERIAL NEAREST THE TOP OF THE DISCHARGE PORTION. 